Employers face notification deadline

Sunday

Sep 29, 2013 at 6:00 AM

By Sandy Meindersma, CORRESPONDENT

WORCESTER — Mandatory health care has been the law of the land in Massachusetts since 2008, and employers here may think that the federal Affordable Care Act does not apply to them. Unfortunately, no employer is exempt from the notification provision, whose deadline is Tuesday.

The notification provision requires that all companies, regardless of size, notify their employees of the availability of health insurance on the open market, beginning Jan. 1, 2014. All employees must be notified, regardless of whether they participate in a company health plan or whether they are even eligible for a company health plan.

The mandatory notification provision still carries an Oct. 1 deadline, even though implementation of the Affordable Care Act is delayed, and despite the battle in Washington over whether to fund it.

The Department of Labor has prepared two copies of model notices for employers to use; they are available on the DOL website at dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq-noticeofcoverageoptions.html. One version of the notice is for employers who offer health insurance to some or all employees; the other is for employers who do not offer health insurance.

Christopher Geehern, executive vice president of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, said Massachusetts employers are more accustomed to health care regulations than employers in other states.

"However, a lot of the language and specifications of the federal law are a bit different from Massachusetts," he said. "So on one hand, it's easier, but on the other hand, it's harder.

Mr. Geehern said the employer association has been working with both its members and the Health Connector (Massachusetts' online marketplace for health insurance plans) on the matter.

"We have worked hard to make sure that our employers understand the notification requirement," Mr. Geehern said. "The Health Connector has developed a form that complies with all the federal requirements, but it also has all the Massachusetts-specific information."

Vanessa Costa, owner of Advantage Benefits, a Worcester-based employee benefit plan brokerage firm, said the mandatory notification is likely to create many questions from employees.

"Employees may want to go and shop for their insurance," Ms. Costa said. "But when they shop on the open market, they may choose coverage that is not as good as what they have through their employer."

Ms. Costa said individuals who have access to an employer-sponsored health plan but choose to purchase insurance on the open market can lose two other valuable benefits provided by employer plans.

"The notification clearly states that employees can lose the employer contribution to their health insurance," she said. "And, they also lose the ability to pay for health insurance with pre-tax dollars."

Mark Langevin, president of Shrewsbury-based Phoenix Communications, said his company is preparing its notification, which will be placed in each employee's mailbox and also sent out electronically.

The company provides an HMO/PPO health plan through a major insurer, paying for 65 percent of the premium.

Mr. Langevin said that in addition to the questions that the notification may raise, he is concerned that employees may choose to purchase coverage elsewhere, and then realize that the coverage is not as good as the company's plan.

"If they find out that it's not to their liking in two months, they can't come back to our plan until open enrollment next September," he said.